A Bethesda-based technology solutions firm has turned one of the world’s largest art fairs into an innovative virtual experience. And it needed only weeks to do it.
Art Basel draws thousands of art connoisseurs each year to its international showings in Basel, Switzerland; Hong Kong; and Miami Beach. But this year, coronavirus brought its plans to a halt. Digital Management LLC, or DMI for short, was there with a solution.
Leveraging its offices in Europe, India, and D.C., DMI founder and CEO Sunny Bajaj was determined to create an interactive digital experience that Art Basel attendees could still enjoy. After the Hong Kong show was canceled in February, the 2,500-person firm created Online Viewing Rooms as a way for artists to present their works.
“During any crisis comes opportunity,” said Bajaj, whose firm has worked with Art Basel before, creating its Apple and Android applications and redesigning its website.
With the debut of the online platform in March, in lieu of the Hong Kong show, the virtual fair presented over 2,000 works with an estimated value of $270 million from 230 galleries.
This week, as an alternative to the Switzerland show, Online Viewing Rooms is displaying 4,000 works from 282 galleries. With each virtual showing, DMI is doing an analysis to see what’s successful and can be incorporated into later shows.
Art Basel Online Viewing Rooms are free of charge to visit by anyone with a valid email address.
While DMI expects virtual technologies to continue to grow in use, Art Basel and DMI believe that nothing can replace the in-person experience of viewing art. DMI has helped retail, transportation and health care industries transition in digital platforms, but this is its first experience doing so with something abstract like art.
“At an art gallery you’ll see people standing in front of a picture for 10 minutes turning their head sideways,” Bajaj said, “so taking a traditional brick-and-mortar industry and making it digital was a big learning experience for us.”
The second virtual art fair runs until Friday on the Art Basel website.
“Regardless if you’re a retailer or an insurance company,” Bajaj said, “if you don’t have a strong digital online game to service your customers and attract new ones, then I think you’re going to get left behind.”
